To many, it’s a foregone conclusion that rates will go up tomorrow.
Most economists questioned by online comparison site finder forecast a 0.5% hike at the RBA’s meeting on Tuesday, September 6, which would catapult the cash rate to 2.35%. That hike would rapidly find its way through to Australia’s homeowners – no doubt adding to the housing market’s deceleration, and being a “fifth shot of vodka” for consumers.
And as any savvy politician knows, financial pressure on the electorate is not a good thing.
Which is why Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is doing his best to keep himself distant from that decision – and to vocally let Aussie battlers know that he is on their side.
“My message is the same,” Albanese said on ABC Radio earlier today. “… they have to bear in mind, I’m sure that’s something that they do … bear in mind the impact of decisions that are made.” Useful advice for RBA governor Philip Lowe, no doubt.
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Although the Reserve Bank will almost certainly have its decision locked and loaded, there are some more figures to watch for today that will have bearing on its decision. The Melbourne Institute’s monthly inflation gauge and ANZ’s job advertisements report will both be released in a few hours.
That being said, despite a slowdown in home loan growth, there’s already evidence that the retail boom is not slowing yet.
This morning’s figures show that new car sales last month were the highest for five years – 95,256 vehicles were sold – up 17.3% on July. (Toyota’s HiLux ute was the top seller, followed by the Ford Ranger, Toyota Rav and then the Tesla 3)
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The ABS will also be releasing its national accounts figures on Wednesday which includes GDP figures for the June quarter – CBA is predicting a growth of 0.8% for that period, while NAB is predicting a slightly more cautious 0.7%.
